Book of Hebreeën

Summary of the Book of Hebrews

This summary of the book of Hebrews provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing, chronology, theme,
theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the Book of Hebrews.

Author

The writer of this letter does not identify himself, but he was obviously
well known to the original recipients. Though for some 1,200 years (from c.
a.d. 400 to 1600) the book was commonly called "The Epistle of Paul to the
Hebrews," there was no agreement in the earliest centuries regarding its authorship.
Since the Reformation it has been widely recognized that Paul could not have
been the writer. There is no disharmony between the teaching of Hebrews and
that of Paul's letters, but the specific emphases and writing styles are markedly
different. Contrary to Paul's usual practice, the author of Hebrews nowhere
identifies himself in the letter -- except to indicate that he was a man (see
note on 11:32). Moreover, the statement "This salvation, which was first announced
by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him" (2:3), indicates that
the author had neither been with Jesus during his earthly ministry nor received
special revelation directly from the risen Lord, as had Paul (Gal 1:11-12).

The earliest suggestion of authorship is found in Tertullian's De Pudicitia, 20
(c. 200), in which he quotes from "an epistle to the Hebrews under the name
of Barnabas." From the letter itself it is clear that the writer must have
had authority in the apostolic church and was an intellectual Hebrew Christian
well versed in the OT. Barnabas meets these requirements. He was a Jew of the
priestly tribe of Levi (Ac 4:36) who became a close friend of Paul after the
latter's conversion. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church at Antioch
commissioned Barnabas and Paul for the work of evangelism and sent them off
on the first missionary journey (Ac 13:1-4).

The other leading candidate for authorship is Apollos, whose name was first
suggested by Martin Luther and who is favored by many interpreters today. Apollos,
an Alexandrian by birth, was also a Jewish Christian with notable intellectual
and oratorical abilities. Luke tells us that "he was a learned man, with a
thorough knowledge of the Scriptures" (Ac 18:24). We also know that Apollos
was associated with Paul in the early years of the church in Corinth (1Co 1:12; 3:4-6,22).

One thing is evident: The author was a master of the Greek language of his
day, and he was thoroughly acquainted with the pre-Christian Greek translation
of the OT (the Septuagint), which he regularly quotes.

Date

Hebrews must have been written before the destruction of Jerusalem and the
temple in a.d. 70 because: (1) If it had been written after this date, the
author surely would have mentioned the temple's destruction and the end of
the Jewish sacrificial system; and (2) the author consistently uses the Greek
present tense when speaking of the temple and the priestly activities connected
with it (see 5:1-3; 7:23,27; 8:3-5; 9:6-9,13,25; 10:1,3-4,8,11; 13:10-11).

Recipients

The letter was addressed primarily to Jewish converts who were familiar with
the OT and who were being tempted to revert to Judaism or to Judaize the gospel
(cf. Gal 2:14). Some have suggested that these professing Jewish Christians
were thinking of merging with a Jewish sect, such as the one at Qumran near
the Dead Sea. It has also been suggested that the recipients were from the
"large number of priests who became obedient to the faith" (Ac 6:7).

Theme

The theme of Hebrews is the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ
as revealer and as mediator of God's grace. The prologue (1:1-4) presents Christ
as God's full and final revelation, far surpassing the revelation given in
the OT. The prophecies and promises of the OT are fulfilled in the "new covenant"
(or "new testament"), of which Christ is the mediator. From the OT itself,
Christ is shown to be superior to the ancient prophets, to angels, to Moses
(the mediator of the former covenant) and to Aaron and the priestly succession
descended from him. Hebrews could be called "the book of better things" since
the two Greek words for "better" and "superior" occur 15 times in the letter.
A striking feature of this presentation of the gospel is the unique manner
in which the author employs expositions of eight specific passages of the OT
Scriptures:

Practical applications of this theme are given throughout the book. The readers
are told that there can be no turning back to or continuation in the old Jewish
system, which has been superseded by the unique priesthood of Christ. God's
people must now look only to him, whose atoning death, resurrection and ascension
have opened the way into the true, heavenly sanctuary of God's presence. To
"ignore such a great salvation" (2:3) or to give up the pursuit of holiness (12:10,14) is to face the anger of the "living God" (10:31). Five times the
author weaves into his presentation of the gospel stern warnings (see note
on 2:1-4) and reminds his readers of the divine judgment that came on the rebellious generation of Israelites in the desert.

Literary Form

Hebrews is commonly referred to as a letter, though it does not have the
typical form of a letter. It ends like a letter (13:22-25) but begins more like an essay or sermon (1:1-4). The author does not identify himself or those
addressed, which letter writers normally did. And he offers no manner of greeting,
such as is usually found at the beginning of ancient letters. Rather, he begins
with a magnificent statement about Jesus Christ. He calls his work a "word
of exhortation" (13:22), the conventional designation given a sermon in a synagogue service (see Ac 13:15, where "message of encouragement" translates the same Greek words as "word of exhortation"). Like a sermon, Hebrews is full of encouragement,
exhortations and stern warnings. It is likely that the author used sermonic
materials and sent them out in a modified letter form.